Woman stripped naked in jail cell

MAGOG, Que. - A lover's quarrel landed a woman in a jail cell in Quebec's Eastern Townships, stripped naked and handcuffed to the bars of a jail cell for four hours, video obtained by QMI Agency shows.

The woman provided the video to QMI more than six years after her arrest in Magog, Que., about 90 minutes east of Montreal. She also contacted lawyer Alain Arsenault, but he said she won't be able to sue because the statute of limitations for civil action has expired.

"She feels great shame to have found herself naked in a police station for four hours," Arsenault said. "It's a horrible attack on her dignity."

The woman was arrested on Sept. 7, 2004 and complained to officers that her jail cell was cold. When her request for a blanket went unanswered, the 33-year-old decided to get the officers' attention by pretending to hang herself with her bra.

Three officers, two female and one male, are seen entering the cell to remove all of the woman's clothing and underclothing. She's then handcuffed to the jail bars.

The handcuffs were removed four hours later and the footage shows the woman dressing herself. She was freed a few hours later.

The woman later received the surveillance tape during her trial. She was eventually acquitted of obstruction of justice and assault, but she was convicted of disturbing the peace.

Arsenault said the police force's actions were unnecessary and excessive.

"What's the point of humiliating someone for four hours," he asked. "All of the male policemen could watch the camera and see her completely naked."

The Sherbrooke police force was not immediately available for comment.

The woman decided to release the footage six and a half years later after seeing video of another woman who was stripped nearly naked by members of the same police force last year.